Humanus Apparatus
by Malicious Maelstrom
Summary: Unlike his family, Rikuo had no yokai powers within him. But, he was fine with that and decided it was best to live his life as human and, be there when they returned home from whatever dangerous mission they did. However, gears and grids start to appear on his skin and his reflection starts to change. And, his mother's smile starts to become more rare as the days go by. AU/AR


Hello and welcome to my new story! This is going to be a experience for me, since I'm going to try my hand at action stories.

**Warnings:** AU/AR, so things will NOT be happening like they did in cannon but there might be a few parallels though.

And those of you who are wondering, the new chapter of 'Spray Paint Family' is almost finished and may be published in a few hours or tomorrow.

* * *

Rikuo was used to waiting for long periods of time. He would wait for his turn in a long line, or sit patiently in the waiting room for his check-up. More often than not, he would wait at home for his family to return from whatever dangerous journey they were on. Like both his mothers, he would help cook for the yokai that stayed to protect the main house. Cleaning also helped to pass the time, and a few odd jobs kept him too busy to worry about them. However, they were up against Hagoromo Gitsune in Kyoto. She was strong and very dangerous, even his grandfather had a tough time defeating her the first time around. It was with the help of Hidemoto, did they actually defeat her.

Yet, his grandfather, father and older brother still went. A displeasurable feeling pooled at his stomach as he finished up the dishes. The worry he had for them coming back alive captured his thoughts. Especially for his brother, who went recklessly to Kyoto right after he finished his training at the Tono Village. Usually, he would voice his worries to his mothers, since they had dealt with this for years. Especially Yamabuki, his father's first wife. She often empathized with his worries, knowing full well how reckless the men tended to be. Wakana- his birth mother- on the other hand, would pat his head with a smile on her face and tell him not too worry so much. That everything will work out in the end.

Rikuo sighed as he finished cleaning the last plate. He wondered about his mother sometimes, she never seemed to worry about most things and never showed any fear. She would always walk around with a smile on her face, and he never knew why she was always so happy. Even in the most unpredictable situations, she smiled. A part of him assumed that something tragic happened in her past life, and that she smiled now to make up for that lost happiness. He asked her once, why she was always smiling. But, Wakana just smiled even bigger, rustled his hair, and told him that he'll find out one day.

That was a year ago.

He made way into the family room, since it was the only room that had a television. Waving to the smaller yoaki, Rikuo sat in the room and shut the door before turning the TV to the news. Not to his surprise, the anchorman was covering the bizarre happenings in Kyoto. From behind the man, Rikuo could see dark skies, spiraling winds hitting the water and many buildings in ruins. Eyes drooping in worry, Rikuo sent a small prayer that his family would make it out alive. It was all that he could do, for how he is. Unlike his brother who was one-fourth human, Rikuo was one-fourth yokai. His human blood was much more dominant, making so he didn't just look like his mother but, that there was virtually no yoaki powers within him. He was human as any other human.

And so, his brother received most of the training needed to control his fear and was often invited to the clan meetings. Rikuo wasn't mad at his father and grandfather for it, it was perfectly understandable. While he could take on a few yoaki and stand his own against them for a fair amount of time, he simply didn't have the strength nor the endurance compared to the much more powerful yokai. His wounds could also get the better of him too, not being able to within stand pain and blood loss for very long. Stamina wise, Rikuo had more than the typical human but, he was still quick to tire compared to humans. Essentially, Rikuo was completely human besides for the yoaki blood that doesn't look like it would wake.

Even if 13 is when yokai are considered adults and are able to fully awaken their powers; there are usually signs of their powers before the coming of age. For instance, when Rikun was 12 he was able to defeat the Kyuso Clan using the Meikyō Shisui, Sakura technique. The clan ended up kidnapping him when he was on his way home from Elementary School. Rikuo was mesmerized by the blue fire, as it burned the rat yoakis. It was then, did Rikuo really realize the difference between him and his brother, and that no matter how hard he tried, becoming the third head was useless.

Rikuo shook those thoughts out of his head. He was young and foolish, not understanding that he wasn't as strong as he thought. Taking the remote Rikuo turned off the TV, it was getting late and it was time for bed. He had school in the morning. But, a sharp stinging sensation on his wrist made him flinch and drop the remote. Turing his wrist over, Rikuo was shocked at what he saw.

On his pale flesh and over his veins were black horizontal lines, with black vertical lines going through them. That wasn't what caught his attention the most, though. On the black grid were three spinning gears. The one on the top and the one on the bottom spun clockwise, while the middle spun counter clockwise. He didn't understand...how did this appear? Bringing up his other hand, he tentatively stroked the gears before pulling back, his heart beating fast in his chest.

Oh God...those gears...they felt _real_. The didn't feel like his soft skin, but like real metal and they seemed to move faster than before. Just around the time his heartbeat sped up. What...was this? Dear lord...why was this on his skin? Why is it reacting to his heart beat?

"Rikuo? Are you in here?" Wakana asked with the ever present smile on her, as she slid the door open. "You know full well that you have school tomorrow."

Rikuo snapped his head to his mother, surprised to see her. "Ah..sorry mom, I was..." then he looked back to his wrist. Nothing was there but his pale skin, the grid and the gears gone.

"Rikuo? What's wrong?" Wakana asked, sitting next to her son.

"I...I...was sure that there was something on my wrist. A black grid...with three metal gears on it..." Rikuo explained, still looking at his wrist. "Could I have-" He stopped when he looked at his mother. For the first in years, there was no smile on her face. Instead, the smile was replaced by the thin line of her lips and a serious expression on her face. "Mom?"

And just like that, the smile reappeared on her face. However, it looked less happy and much more strained. "It's nothing Rikuo. How hurry along, you still have school in the morning. Don't you want to be well rested for that big test?"

"Crap!" Rikuo exclaimed standing up, the gears forgotten. Rikuo made his way to the door, wanting to get to bed as fast as he could. "Thanks for reminding me, mom! Goodnight!" He said, making way to his room.

"Goodnight Rikuo!" Wakana waved merrily. When his footsteps could no longer be heard, she dropped her smile and heaved out a sigh. Pulling back her sleeve, Wakana turned over her arm. She started at it, eyes following the pale blue under her skin. A second later, purple lines appeared in different sections on her arm, with different numbers of gears as well.

"It looks like I was wrong..."

* * *

Rikuo woke to the sound of his alarm clock, which was much less pleasant than having one of his attendants wake him. Sitting up, Rikuo stretched his arms over his head. Blinking, he remembered the strange...tattoo-he guessed- on his wrist. Bringing his arms back down, Rikuo turned one over and almost screamed. There were more black girds on different parts of his arm and much more gears. Some of the gears weren't even on the grids! They just floated on his skin with their never ending spinning.

Then, they disappeared.

"What the hell?" What was this, what's the hell is going on? This wasn't something of his imagination. It was there, but why or what for were the questions. He could take to his dad, but he had a felling that his father wouldn't know anything about this. His mother was also another possibility, but she was human so there...

Wait. Rikuo thought back to last night and his mother's serious look. Could his mother know something about this? Rikuo decided to ask her after breakfast, before he went to school.

"Yay! Second, First and Rikun are back!" One of the yokai shouted.

"This victory calls for a celebration!" Another one said.

"Party! Party! Party!" Was the chorus that rang throughout the house.

Rikuo pushed his blankets off and ran out of his room. He didn't expect them to be back so soon, and he was eager to see if his family was alright. Pushing open the final door, Rikuo was greeted with the sight of his grandfather, brother, and father with a few bandages. Nurarihyon had his arms crossed over his chest, a wide smirk on his face. Next to him was his older brother, Rikun who was almost the spitting image of Nurarihyon but with sliver hair instead of pale-gold. Rikun gave a small smile to his comrades behind him, before being drawn into a hug by his mother. Their father- Rihan was in the front of everyone else, currently giving Wakana a hug and kiss.

"Dad, grandpa, Rikun, everyone!" Rikuo said happily, running to them.

Rihan released Wakana and looked to Rikuo. "We're home, Rikuo."

Rikuo smiled before going up to his dad and giving him a hug. "Welcome back, dad."

* * *

Crap ending? Sure but it felt right to end it there.


End file.
